This paper is about people living at the periphery ‘the tribal’ in central India. Development efforts since Independence have failed to narrow the gap between tribals and other social groups. The irony is that tribals in India in general and that of central India in particular, live in an area which is characterised by rich natural resources like forest, land, water, biodiversity and minerals. It would not be an exaggeration to state that poverty, misery and deprivation continue to persist among tribals of central India. The paper is based on years of working with various governmental and non-governmental organisations located in the western (Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh) and eastern (Odisha and Jharkhand) part of central India. The paper begins with a broad overview of the central India - its resources, tribal and their present socio-economic conditions vis-a-vis rest of India. This is followed by the debate and concern for tribal development between Nehru and Elwin, a British Indian citizen whom Nehru had appointed as an anthropological advisor to the Government of India. Both of them were equally concerned about the tribals but their approach to their development vastly differed. The next section describes the two recent developmental interventions one each in western central India by the N M Sadguru Development Foundation (henceforth Sadguru) and eastern central India by Professional Assistance for Development Action (henceforth PRADAN). Both these non- governmental organisations are working towards the upliftment of the tribals for the last three to four decades.1 The final section brings out the lessons from the above interventions.